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We went grain free a few years ago and are feeling great! But, when we first made the transition, my baked goods suffered. Learning how to bake with flours made from nuts and coconut was a whole new experience for me, and because of this many recipes flopped! Many more that I would like to think of.

Learning to bake with grain free flours is a learning curve.

I wanted to put all of my tips and tricks into one place so maybe it won’t be such a difficult transition for you!

In this post, I chose to cover coconut, almond and cassava flour because those are the top three that I use in my recipes. I have dabbled into tapioca, rice, cashew, and the standard all-purpose gluten free flours. But, I keep coming back to these three. To make it easier, I am going to keep it simple.

Coconut Flour:

What is it: Coconut flour is produced from dried coconut meat. It is a natural byproduct of coconut milk production. It is very absorbent and recipes containing coconut flour have a different ratio of wet to dry ingredients, so you can not use it as a 1:1 replacement for regular flour in your favorite recipes. Where to find.

Health benefits:

High in beneficial fats: contains lauric acid – a fatty acid that is also the same fat found in breast milk and a potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial substance that strengthens the immune system. A 100 gram serving of coconut flour contains 8.7 grams of fat, of which 8 grams are saturated. Most of these fats are medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) – essential protective fats with noted antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. MCTs have also been shown to boost the metabolism, making coconut flour suitable for weight loss diets

Good source of manganese – helps your body utilize several key nutrients such as biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline. Also good for bone health, synthesizing fatty acids and cholesterol, maintaining blood sugar levels, thyroid function and nervous system function

How to use it:

You will also need to increase the number of eggs. For every one cup of coconut flour you use, you will need to use six beaten eggs in your recipe in addition to approximately one cup liquid such as coconut milk

It will be clumpy so mix it very well

To make your recipes as light as possible, beat the egg whites very well first and fold them in. This is especially helpful when making pancakes

What kinds of recipes is it best for: breads, muffins, pancakes, crackers, cakes

Almond Flour:

What is it: The almond seed (or fruit) is not a true nut, but a drupe. The almond is actually the seed of the fruit that grows on almond trees, a medium-size tree that bears fragrant pink and white flowers. Like its cousins, the peach, cherry and apricot trees, the almond tree bears fruits with stone-like seeds (or pits) within. The seed of the almond fruit is what we refer to as the almond nut. Wow, you learn something new every day! Where to find.

Health Benefits:

High in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil. These fats are known to be anti-inflammatory, which can lead to a reduced risk of heart disease! However, when we bake with almond flour, we change the structure of these fats and they oxidize. You can learn more about that HERE

One quarter-cup of almonds contains almost 99 mg of magnesium (that’s 24.7% of the daily value for this important mineral), plus 257 mg of potassium. These minerals are essential to the proper functioning of our nervous system, amongst many other functions.

They decrease after-meal rises in blood sugar, and also provide antioxidants to mop up the smaller amounts of free radicals that still result.

One the best vitamin E foods. Just an ounce of almonds offers a whopping 7.4 milligrams of vitamin E! Vitamin E is a powerful, fat-soluble antioxidant that helps protect cell membranes against damage caused by free radicals and prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. This means that they help keep your cholesterol in check too!

How to use it:

First, lets distinguish between almond flour and almond meal: Almond Meal is different than Almond Flour. Almond Meal is ground almonds with the skin on, while Almond Flour is blanched almonds with the skin removed. Almond meal will produce a more dense baked good

You can substitute almond flour for regular flour one to one, but experiment a bit. Use slightly more raising agent than the recipe suggests, allowing for the heavier weight of the almond flour

Almond flour works very well for practically all cake and muffin recipes, pancakes and some cookie recipes, too. It can also be used to make “pastry” tart shells for sweet or savory dishes. The only types of dessert that do not typically work well with almond flour are yeasted or bread-based recipes. Remember that the heat does denature the fats though

Be sure to butter and line your pans with baking paper, use a Silpat, or grease your pans to prevent sticking. After baking, recipes made with almond flour should be left to sit for a few minutes and loosened carefully with a knife before turning out because the texture is generally more fragile than regular recipes made with flour

Nut flours burn easily. You will want to bake them at a lower baking temperature and longer time than you would use with a normal wheat flour recipe. Watch them closely and experiment with temperatures, starting low

My recipes using almond flour:

Cassava Flour:

What is it: also known as yuca or manioc, it is a nutty flavored, starchy tuber in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) of plants from the South-American region. Its sweet crunchy underground tuber is a popular edible root since centuries for indigenous people of many parts of Africa, Asia and South American continents. As in other roots and tubers, cassava is gluten free. Cassava flour is made by cooking, drying and grinding cassava root to a fine powder. It differs from Tapioca Flour in that Tapioca flour is made from the starch of the cassava plant where the Cassava flour is the ground root. Where to find.

Health Benefits:

Cassava is very low in fats and protein than in cereals and pulses. Nonetheless, it has more protein than that of other tropical food sources like yam, potato, plantains, etc.

Cassava is a moderate source of some of the valuable B-complex group of vitamins such as folates, thiamin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and pantothenic acid.

The root is one of the chief sources of some important minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese for many inhabitants in tropical regions. It also contains potassium (271 mg per 100g or 6% of RDA)

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My recipes using cassava flour: (many more in the works!)

Now, on to the nutrient profile comparison

Here is a breakdown of macronutrient content per 1/4 cup of each flour

The verdict? If I am going to use one flour only, I would use cassava. Simply because it has the same texture as regular wheat flour and is so easy to substitute! Your recipes will have a much better chance of turning out the same as they would with regular flour. Yes, it is much higher in carbohydrate content than the other two, but most of the recipes that I will use it in will not be intended to be low carb anyway

My second favorite would be coconut flour because the fats in coconut are much more heat stable when used in baking. Almond flour is not to be thrown under the bus, but I would reserve it for foods that do not require a lengthy baking period or high-heat temperatures to make.

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Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. Statements made here have not been evaluated by the FDA. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet.